Officials increase train-crossing patrols

Train horns were accompanied by police sirens Wednesday morning as local officials amped up patrols near train crossings to reinforce safety procedures during the eighth annual Officer-On-A-Train event.

Police officers boarded unloaded trains around 7 a.m. and helped alert patrol officers, who were stationed on the street near the crossings, as the trains approached. If drivers or pedestrians crossed the tracks unsafely, officers followed and cited them on the spot. Officials said they hope the extra enforcement will remind people about the importance of safety.

Jorge Villascusa, a police officer with the Union Pacific Railroad, said the program was started by the Fullerton Police Department and the Union Pacific Railroad and has grown to a countywide event over the past eight years. This year, participating officials came Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Fullerton.

“We are trying to educate people about the consequences and the dangers,” he said.

One of the trains, about 160 feet long, rustic-yellow and pulled by a Union Pacific Railroad engine, traveled about 10 mph down the Anaheim tracks. Anaheim Police Officer Sean Staymates stood in the train Wednesday morning and alerted patrol officers when the train was approaching a street crossing.

Staymates said the lights and bells are triggered a few seconds before the gates begin to drop to serve as a warning to drivers and pedestrians. According to California law, it is illegal to enter or cross a railroad crossing when safety lights begin to flash and after the safety gates have closed.

Violators on Wednesday were stopped by local police or train officers and cited. Drivers and pedestrians who break the law can expect to be fined $492, according to Orange County court records.

By the time the event ended, around 10:30 a.m., train and police officials had cited 126 drivers and 21 pedestrians, up from last year’s total of 125, said Joel Zlotnik, an Orange County Transportation Authority spokesman.

Villascusa said many students were cited while walking to school Wednesday morning. He said volunteer officers work with Operation Lifesaver, a rail-safety group that tours schools and lectures on how to be safe when crossing highway-rail grade intersections. Two volunteers sat at a booth at the Anaheim Metrolink station Wednesday morning during the event.

Officials hope that this yearly event will prevent railway crossing injuries in the future and increase public knowledge of the legal measures in place to ensure public safety.